SAP RISE Advisory

SAP RISE Migration Readiness Checklist

Comprehensive checklist for evaluating and preparing for SAP RISE migration. Covers commercial, technical, licensing, and negotiation readiness. 40+ items.

📘 This guide is part of our SAP Licensing Knowledge Hub — your comprehensive resource for SAP licensing, compliance, and cost optimization.
40+
Action Items
6
Phases
5-Year
TCO Horizon
Your Progress
0/39 (0%)
💰
Commercial Evaluation
7 items
0/7
▾
Build a complete 5-year TCO for RISE vs current on-premise
Include: RISE subscription, migration costs, implementation, AMS, internal staffing, training, and dual-running.
Critical
Calculate the true cost of your current SAP landscape
Include: licence amortisation, annual maintenance, infrastructure, hosting, internal staffing, and AMS.
Important
Understand SAP RISE pricing components
RISE bundles: S/4HANA Cloud, BTP credits, infrastructure, and tools. Understand what is included and what costs extra.
Evaluate SAP RISE vs third-party hosted private cloud
RISE is not the only path to S/4HANA. Compare against hosting providers like AWS, Azure, or GCP with your own S/4HANA licences.
Important
Assess the impact of converting perpetual licences to RISE subscription
Your existing perpetual licences have residual value. Ensure SAP provides fair credit for licence conversion.
Critical
Model the exit cost if RISE does not meet expectations
What happens after 5 years? Can you leave? At what cost? Understand the exit economics before committing.
Evaluate BTP credit inclusion and actual consumption needs
SAP bundles BTP credits with RISE. Assess whether you will actually use them or if they inflate the cost.
⚙️
Technical Readiness
7 items
0/7
▾
Assess your current SAP customisation complexity
Heavy customisation (ABAP modifications, custom transactions) increases RISE migration cost and timeline significantly.
Critical
Inventory all custom ABAP code and assess cloud compatibility
SAP RISE runs on S/4HANA Cloud. Custom code must be adapted to clean core principles.
Important
Map all SAP integrations to non-SAP systems
Every integration must be rebuilt or redirected. Integration count directly drives migration cost and timeline.
Evaluate data migration volume and complexity
Large data volumes extend migration timelines. Plan data archiving before migration to reduce scope.
Assess your current SAP landscape (ECC version, databases, OS)
Migration path depends on your starting point. Unicode conversion, database migration, and OS changes may be required.
Determine your target RISE deployment model
Public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid? Each has different capabilities, limitations, and pricing.
Plan for parallel running during migration
You will run both old and new systems during migration. Budget for dual-running costs and plan the cutover carefully.
Important
📜
Licensing & Contract
7 items
0/7
▾
Map your current SAP Named User entitlements
Document every user type: Professional, Limited Professional, Developer, Employee (ESS/MSS). This determines your RISE baseline.
Critical
Negotiate perpetual licence credit towards RISE subscription
SAP should credit the residual value of your perpetual licences. Do not accept zero credit.
Critical
Understand FUE (Full-Use Equivalent) licensing in RISE
RISE uses FUE metrics. Understand how your current Named Users convert to FUEs and whether the conversion is fair.
Review indirect/digital access implications under RISE
RISE may resolve some indirect access exposure but creates new licensing considerations. Assess carefully.
Important
Negotiate maintenance termination flexibility
You need to terminate on-premise maintenance when you migrate to RISE. Negotiate the timing to avoid double-paying.
Ensure contract includes clear SLAs with financial penalties
RISE SLAs must have meaningful financial consequences. Vague SLAs are marketing, not commitments.
Important
Negotiate exit terms including data export and transition assistance
Without exit terms, you are locked into RISE regardless of satisfaction. Negotiate before signing.
Critical
👥
Organisation & Skills
5 items
0/5
▾
Assess your team SAP Basis and cloud skills
RISE changes the SAP operational model. Your Basis team needs cloud skills and clean core knowledge.
Plan training for S/4HANA differences from ECC
User interfaces and business processes change in S/4HANA. Plan end-user training.
Evaluate impact on your AMS provider relationship
RISE changes what your AMS provider manages. Renegotiate or re-evaluate your AMS contract.
Identify an internal RISE project owner with executive sponsorship
RISE migration is a major transformation programme. It needs dedicated leadership and board-level support.
Important
Plan change management for business process changes
S/4HANA introduces new processes (e.g., simplified finance). Business users need preparation and support.
🤝
Negotiation Strategy
7 items
0/7
▾
Do not accept SAP first RISE proposal
SAP RISE pricing is heavily negotiable. First proposals are typically 30-50% above achievable pricing.
Critical
Benchmark RISE pricing against comparable deals
Independent benchmark data shows what similar organisations are paying for RISE.
Important
Negotiate phased migration with pricing aligned to phases
Do not pay full RISE pricing from day one if you are migrating over 12-24 months.
Require BTP credits that roll over between years
Standard SAP BTP credits expire annually. Negotiate rollover to avoid waste.
Tip
Negotiate volume growth pricing at contract signing
Agree pricing for additional users and capacity upfront. Do not accept list price for growth.
Align negotiation timing with SAP fiscal calendar
SAP fiscal year ends December 31. Q4 (Oct-Dec) creates maximum quota pressure.
Tip
Engage Redress Compliance for independent RISE negotiation
We have negotiated dozens of RISE deals and bring market data that ensures competitive terms.
📋
Pre-Migration Checklist
6 items
0/6
▾
Complete data archiving to reduce migration scope
Archive historical data before migration. Less data = faster, cheaper migration.
Recommended
Clean up SAP user base — remove inactive users
Every migrated user costs money. Clean your user base before calculating RISE user counts.
Important
Document all critical business processes in SAP
Migration is an opportunity to simplify. Document current processes before deciding what to replicate.
Establish success criteria and KPIs for the RISE migration
Define how you will measure success: cost, performance, user satisfaction, and business outcomes.
Create a risk register with mitigation plans
Identify risks: timeline, cost overrun, data loss, business disruption. Plan mitigations for each.
Obtain board approval with a clear business case
RISE is a multi-million, multi-year commitment. Board approval requires a compelling business case.
Critical

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